The Birthday Suite
by Snoe
Summary: What do you do when you get stuck for days? Make a friend, fall in love, maybe do something absolutely incredible. Liley
1. Chapter 1

So, I decided to do another "one-shot", this is somewhat different from all my other stuff in that it's pretty much all happy. It's gonna be just a few chapters, but I hope you'll all enjoy it anyway.

This is dedicated to lita_rocks for her birthday, which isn't until next week, but I didn't want to withhold this story from my loyal readers ;)

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**The Birthday Suite**

Rating: T for some cursing and graphic scenes

Summary: What do you do when you get stuck for days? Make a friend, fall in love, maybe do something absolutely incredible.

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Lilly sighed heavily as she leaned against the wall. It had been one of those days that just would not end and to top it off her professor had kept her after class to talk about her poor performance during the last test. His words had angered her, even though they were partially true, but this class was just so late in the day she had a hard time concentrating and much preferred skipping it altogether. She glanced at her watch. It was now just after 10 pm and she'd have just enough time to get home, shower, eat and go to bed, before getting up in the morning to go to work.

Impatient, she hit the elevator button again, knowing it would not work any faster, but the action made her feel slightly better. The ding finally sounded, signaling the elevator's arrival. It was late and the building was completely deserted by now and Lilly was glad to find the elevator empty. She hated being packed in a small space with strangers while everyone just looked around awkwardly. Lilly hit the button for the ground floor and leaned back against the wood-paneled wall, when she heard a voice.

"Hey, hold the elevator please!"

The doors were already closing and Lilly wanted nothing more than to just let them slide shut. She had no desire for company and it wasn't her fault this person was too slow to catch the elevator. But her mother's voice rang in her head, admonishing her to be nicer to people and, with a sigh, Lilly pushed the button to open the doors. A girl entered, about her age, with long, brown hair, brilliant blue eyes and a bright smile that made Lilly almost feel okay about having to share her elevator. Almost.

"Thanks, I thought you were gonna leave without me," said the girl as the doors slid shut behind her.

Lilly merely shrugged, not in the mood to talk. The girl was pretty, but as Lilly's eyes moved away from her face, she noticed the girl was also incredibly pregnant. Lilly couldn't fathom how someone her age could already want to settle down with children and probably a husband. She balked at the thought of having real responsibility, beyond her small-time job and college classes. Lilly's eyes wandered around the tiny space impatiently, as the ancient elevator lumbered into action. I should've just taken the stairs, Lilly thought, as the number at the top changed from 6 to 5 with an agonizing slowness. Then the elevator shuddered to a stop completely, the number at the top almost gone but for the bottom of the 5.

Lilly stood straight, looking at the elevator doors then the control panel, as if she were missing something. She hit the ground floor button again, and again, to no avail. She wasn't panicking, because in her mind there was no way she was stuck in an elevator on what had already been a horrible day. One cursory glance at her companion told her the other girl had no such inhibitions. The cute brunette had her hands on her large belly, almost protectively and was biting her lip nervously.

"I'm sure it's nothing. It's an old elevator, it's probably just confused," said Lilly, surprising herself with the sudden urge to reassure the other girl.

"The elevator's confused?" asked the girl sarcastically, a slight smirk on her face.

Lilly might have lashed out at the words, considering her bad mood, but somehow she could tell the girl hadn't meant it derogatorily. She shrugged and began hitting more buttons, but this also had no effect. She saw the alarm button, but was almost hesitant to push it. If she needed the alarm button then obviously something was wrong and Lilly was refusing to admit to herself that this was anything out of the ordinary. Another glance at her companion and with a heavy sigh Lilly hit the button.

The alarm was an annoying bell that reverberated around the small space and through the elevator shaft. Lilly clenched her teeth against the noise. The bell continued to ring, but there was no reassuring answer or even movement from the elevator. Lilly tapped her foot nervously, still refusing to admit they were trapped. The ringing was starting to get to her. She noticed the other girl trying to yell across the cacophony.

"Can you turn it off?" Lilly hit the button again and blessed silence filled the elevator, though her ears still rang. The girl heaved a sigh and leaned back against the wall, relieved.

"How's anyone gonna find us if the alarm is off?" asked Lilly, though she was reluctant to turn the annoying ringing back on.

The girl made an apologetic face, "I'm sorry, it's just…the baby and the noise…"

Lilly blinked, glancing down at the girl's stomach, before shrugging. She knew nothing about babies, so she had no idea whether noise was bad for them, but she figured this girl should know. "No, it's fine, it was annoying anyway. Aren't these alarms supposed to go off in a maintenance office or something, as well?"

"I think that's only in the newer models. And I'm sure even if it did, everyone's gone home already."

"What about other students? There's gotta be someone left in this building!" Lilly's voice was taking on a hint of panic, as she pushed all the buttons again and then opened the little hatch for the phone. She pushed that button, too, but there was no answer no matter how much she yelled into what she assumed was the receiver.

The other girl shook her head, "Mine was the last class and I left late because I had to use the bathroom. I don't think anyone is left."

"But it's Friday!" Lilly's voice certainly sounded panicked now, as she realized they were quite possibly stuck in an ancient elevator in an old building with no one around to rescue them all weekend. A sudden thought hit her and she fumbled in her backpack for her cell phone. It wasn't there and Lilly rubbed a hand across her face, willing the panic away. She remembered having her phone in the car, she'd been talking to her annoying ex, and throwing it onto the passenger seat in anger. She turned to the brunette, face almost desperate.

"I don't have my phone. Do you…?"

The girl shook her head almost apologetically. "I umm…I have AT&T, I don't even get service in the building, let alone inside an elevator."

Lilly groaned and dropped her backpack to the ground, rubbing her hands across her face again. Her previously perfect ponytail was starting to look more and more disheveled and she wiped strands of blonde hair from her face. She couldn't be stuck, she just couldn't. She had to be at work in just a few hours and there was a good possibility her boss would fire her if she didn't show up. Lilly turned and angrily punched the buttons, making the other girl jump. When Lilly looked at her to apologize, she noticed the brunette carefully lowering herself to sit on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm sitting down."

Lilly grimaced. "That floor is probably filthy."

"The way things are going, we're gonna be here for a while…might as well get comfortable. You're more than welcome to stand up, but I'm tired of carrying this extra weight."

Lilly watched the girl settle into the corner and turned back to the button console. She refused to accept her situation. Lilly eyed the elevator doors. Perhaps she could pry them open and climb out; she'd seen it done in movies plenty of times. She squeezed her fingers between the doors and pulled with all her might. To her surprise they pulled apart quite easily at first, opening a gap of several inches.

"What are you doing?" asked the girl, sounding almost confused by Lilly's actions.

"Prying the doors open." Lilly put all her effort into it, pushing the steel doors apart just an inch at a time.

"I'm pretty sure we're stuck between floors," said the girl and as soon as Lilly looked at her handiwork, she saw her companion was right. She had opened a gap of maybe a foot, but all there was behind the doors was gray concrete. Lilly wanted to cry. She clenched her jaw, turning away from the doors in frustration. They were really stuck, without anyone there to help. Lilly looked at the other girl, who was watching her curiously.

"Why are you so calm?" Lilly decided focusing on something other than their impending doom in this elevator might keep the panic at bay. She pushed aside her backpack and, trying not to think about how gross it was, sat in the other far corner across from the brunette.

The girl shrugged. "Trust me, I'm ready to panic, but stress is bad for the baby. I'm just trying to focus on something else. I'm Miley, by the way."

"Lilly."

Miley smiled and despite the panic Lilly felt something inside of her move. "Well, it's nice to meet you Lilly, although I wish it'd been under better circumstances. So, I have good news and bad news."

Lilly raised an eyebrow, wondering if this girl was already playing games when they didn't even know each other. "Okay?"

"Well, good news is you got stuck in an elevator with a pregnant woman, so we have a lot of snacks. Bad news is you got stuck in an elevator with a pregnant woman and I'm gonna have to pee again in about ten minutes."

Miley grinned at her and as much as Lilly wanted to cry or panic or scream about their predicament, she couldn't help but laugh.

_to be continued_


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I'm glad you're all enjoying this so far. And I did promise for this to be happy, so just sit back and enjoy the ride ;)

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**Chapter 2**

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Lilly was watching in near astonishment as her new friend pulled out a plastic bag filled with a variety of food. There were three sandwiches, a bag of crackers, some cookies, an apple and even two juice boxes. Miley smiled sheepishly as she spread her goods out in front of her. Lilly suddenly felt inadequate thinking about the jug of water and gum in her own backpack.

"That seems like a lot of food, even for a pregnant woman," said Lilly, eyeing the food that was divided into multiple ziplock bags, as if someone had put a lot of effort into it.

Miley shrugged. "I know. I don't even eat most of it, maybe some crackers or cookies. I just hide whatever's left when I get home."

She laughed at the end and Lilly looked at her weirdly. "You hide your food? Does your husband make it for you or something?"

Miley made a face and shook her head almost vehemently. "I'm not married. Oh wait, you're not gonna call me a heathen now, are you?"

Lilly couldn't tell whether the girl was joking or not, but judging by the suddenly almost panicked look on her face, she may have heard the accusation before. Lilly snorted, "I'm the last person to call anyone a heathen, trust me. I don't much care if you got pregnant out of wedlock. So, you live with your boyfriend then?"

She couldn't say why she was suddenly so talkative, when before she'd been trying just to get home. There was something about Miley that was friendly and warm and Lilly wanted to get to know her better. Miley shook her head.

"No, I live at home, with my dad and brother. My dad makes me all this food every day; he's just trying to take care of me and I don't have the heart to tell him I can't eat it all."

Though Miley smiled at the end Lilly wasn't sure whether she hadn't just stepped into a huge quagmire. She could only think of a few scenarios where a young pregnant woman would live at home without the father of her child and none of them seemed particularly happy. Perhaps Miley could read the hesitation mixed with curiosity on her face, because she gave Lilly an expectant look.

"You can ask; everyone else does."

"Well, I'm not everyone else," said Lilly, almost defiantly. She did not want this girl to think ill of her, though she couldn't figure out why.

Miley smiled again. "Alright, well now that you know about me, I wanna hear all about who Lilly is."

Lilly suddenly felt nervous and made a face. "There's nothing special about me. I'm a Junior, majoring in Athletic Training. I live with my mother, I work at a crappy minimum wage job. That's it."

"I really doubt that's all there is to know about you. Do you have a boyfriend? Husband?"

Lilly snorted, almost shuddering at the thought, "None of the above. I'm gay. I do have a psychotic ex-girlfriend, though."

Lilly realized a split-second too late what she had said. She normally was very open about her sexuality, but that was because she didn't really care what people thought. For some reason, with Miley, she cared, though Lilly attributed it to the fact they were stuck in a confined space for what could turn into a long wait. Miley laughed at her words and Lilly really wished she hadn't said anything, until the other girl spoke.

"We make quite a pair, huh? The unwed, single mother and the lesbian. Maybe the elevator getting stuck was an act of God?"

Lilly smiled wryly, though she was enjoying the other girl's sense of humor. She had to admit to herself she was rather glad now she had held the elevator doors for Miley – the girl made for great company. Lilly stretched out her legs in front of her and sighed at the uncomfortable position, but then thought about how much more uncomfortable this would be if she were pregnant and stayed silent.

"So, tell me about this psychotic ex-girlfriend," said Miley and reached for her bag of cookies. She took one out and handed the bag to Lilly, who didn't hesitate to take one. She was starving. "They're oatmeal raisin. I know most people don't like them, but dad insists on feeding me 'healthy'. I tried telling him a cookie's a cookie, but he won't hear it."

Lilly took a bite and threw Miley a grateful smile. "I like oatmeal raisin. Thanks, Miley. Your dad sounds like a really nice guy."

"He's the best. But you were gonna tell me about the psycho girlfriend."

"There's not much to tell to be honest. Joannie and I dated for like two years. We just sort of grew apart, especially with me working and going to school. We broke up and she didn't take it well. Now she calls me all the time and I think sometimes she stalks me."

"To be honest, I do kinda wish she were stalking you now," said Miley and Lilly gave her an odd look. "If she'd stalked you here maybe she would've heard the alarm."

Lilly laughed. "Good point. So, what about you?"

Miley looked at her, one eyebrow raised and a slight grin on her face. "I thought you were different?"

"I am, but now you know all about my psycho ex. I think it's only fair."

"Well, there's not much to tell, either. Jake and I had been dating on and off since High School. He was always kind of a pompous jerk and my dad and all my friends hated him. I don't know, I suppose I loved him and tried to stick it out. So, one little accident and a plus sign on a pregnancy test later and Jake hightailed it out of town."

Lilly gaped at her. She knew it happened all the time, but couldn't imagine why someone would leave this funny, warm and very beautiful girl, especially after getting her pregnant. "He just left you?"

Miley nodded. "The week after I told him. He said he got a part in a movie and had to go, but I can't imagine anyone hiring him he's so bad of an actor. So now it's just the baby and I, and my family."

"Do you know what it is, yet?"

"A baby, I hope," said Miley with a sly grin and Lilly rolled her eyes.

"I meant the sex."

Miley shrugged. "I didn't wanna find out, especially cause it's driving everyone in my family mad."

"Not knowing the sex of the baby is driving your family mad?"

"They're very traditional people, who like to buy into all that gender role madness. They can't stand not knowing whether to buy pink or blue and I like frustrating them. They say I've been corrupted by 'all them California liberals'." Lilly had thought she'd heard an accent before, though hadn't paid it much mind, but Miley really laid it on thick for the last few words and Lilly laughed.

"Where are you from?"

"Tennessee. The rest of the family still lives near Nashville; my dad, brother and I moved out here a few years ago. I really miss it sometimes, especially now with the baby coming. I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get," said Miley, her voice almost wistful at the end.

"When are you due?"

"December 15th. I know, I timed it perfectly for finals week," laughed Miley, rubbing her hands across her belly.

Lilly smiled. She normally felt horribly uncomfortable around pregnant women, but somehow Miley had put her completely at ease. "That's in like two weeks. Are you scared?"

Miley shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I've heard too many stories not to be, but in the end I'll get to hold my son and it'll all be okay."

"I thought you didn't know the sex?"

"A mother just knows, Lilly," said Miley with a grin then made a face. "I'm sorry, that sounds horrible doesn't it? I always hated it when women would tell me that."

Lilly laughed, unable to argue with the other girl. She had always felt somewhat annoyed when women told her that particular phrase, but Miley was too nice to possibly draw Lilly's ire. They sat silently for a short while, sharing Miley's cookies, until the brunette made a face. Lilly looked at her, confused.

"Remember the bad news I told you about?" Lilly nodded, apprehensive. "Well, I think it's time. I really have to pee."

Lilly looked around them at the small elevator and back at Miley, no idea how the other girl was going to accomplish this.

XxX

"What time is it?"

Lilly threw a glance at her watch and sighed. "Just after 1 am."

Miley had stretched out on her side of the elevator and was lying sideways against the wall, her head bedded on her backpack. Lilly was surprised there hadn't been a blanket or pillow stuffed into her bag, as well, though the girl had found a poncho to lie on. "My dad's probably going crazy with worry."

"Won't he know to look for you here?"

"I don't know, maybe. But they'll tow our cars once the parking garage closes and he may just think I left and never made it home." Miley's voice sounded almost teary at the end and Lilly turned towards her abruptly, sitting up.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay. We're gonna get out of here and you'll see your dad and everything will be fine." Lilly had never felt such a strong urge to comfort someone as she did with Miley. There was something vulnerable about the girl, though at the same time she seemed strong and confident.

Miley smiled at her, though Lilly saw the tears sparkling in her eyes. "I'm glad I'm stuck here with you. I mean, not that I'm stuck. That it's **you **I'm stuck with."

Lilly returned the smile and settled back against her own backpack pillow. She was exhausted, but the overhead lamps in the elevator could not be switched off. Thankfully it was warm enough inside, though the outside temperatures had dropped into the low 50s. Lilly hated the cold. She remembered the beanie she had in her backpack and rummaged for it until she found it triumphantly. Lilly was about to offer Miley the sweatshirt she kept in her backpack for warmth or eye cover, but one glance at the other girl told her she was already asleep. Lilly pulled the beanie over her eyes and laid back, dropping off to sleep not too much later.

When she awoke hours later she felt disoriented. Lilly pulled the beanie from her head and blinked at the bright lights. She turned and saw Miley sitting up against her backpack, a textbook in her hands. When she saw Lilly, she smiled and set down the book.

"Good morning, Lilly."

"What time is it?" asked Lilly, her voice heavy with sleep.

"Just after 7. You want a sandwich?" Miley held up one of the ziplock bags, but Lilly waved her off. She didn't want to take food from Miley and would try to hold out as long as she could.

Lilly sat up, straightening her clothes. She stretched, surprised she'd even managed to sleep for so long in this nasty elevator. "Do you always get up this early?"

Miley shrugged, rubbing her belly. "He likes to kick a lot and wake me up. I think he gets hungry."

She grimaced then and rubbed her hand over a certain spot. Lilly watched her, equal parts curious and terrified. "Is he kicking now?"

"Yeah. I think he likes your voice. You wanna feel?"

Lilly was terrified by the thought, but slid closer nevertheless. Miley gave her that toothy grin again that for some reason made Lilly feel warm inside. She'd always found pregnant bellies to be somewhat scary, but when Miley took her hand and placed it on her abdomen, Lilly gasped in amazement. She had never expected it to feel like there was an actual baby inside, kicking her hand with a tiny foot where it lay. Miley smiled again.

"Yeah, I think he likes you."

Lilly smiled at the sensation of the baby poking her through Miley's stomach, but pulled her hand away once she fully realized how close she was to the other girl. Her face flushed and she looked away, almost embarrassed. Here this girl was being incredibly friendly and Lilly was getting butterflies. She shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling.

"Do you have a name picked out yet?" asked Lilly, reluctantly sliding back over to her own side.

"No, I was hoping one would just come to me when I see him. I really wanted to name my baby after my mom, but that's gonna be hard if it's a boy."

"What's your mom's name? Maybe you can make it sound male?" suggested Lilly.

"Her name was Susan, not much I can do with that I'm afraid."

"Was?"

"Yeah, she died almost ten years ago." Miley offered a sad smile and Lilly felt her insides churn.

"Wow, I'm really sorry, Miley. That must've been hard."

"It was, but my dad has been great and I'm glad he's around. I do wish I had my mom now, though, for baby advice. I swear, dad thinks I'm gonna break apart or something. Every time I just grimace he's ready to drive me to the hospital."

Lilly chuckled at the face Miley made. "Is it his first grandchild?"

"Oh yeah, I think we're both hoping my brother Jackson doesn't reproduce. Do you have any siblings?"

"No, it's just me. My parents are divorced; they've been dating other people but, thankfully, no little siblings."

They fell into a comfortable silence, with Miley returning to her textbook and Lilly rummaging through her backpack for anything else useful. She started shifting and crossing her legs and Miley threw her an odd look. "What's wrong?"

Lilly heaved a frustrated sigh, "I tried to hold it, but I've seriously got to pee."

Miley gave her a sympathetic grin and threw one of the empty ziplock bags at her. "Have at it. I promise I won't look."

Lilly gave the other girl a dark look and Miley laughed. Lilly knew she shouldn't complain, after all it was a lot easier for her to do this than hugely pregnant Miley and the other girl had, true to her word, had to pee almost every half hour. She'd devised the idea of relieving herself into a ziplock bag last night and had poured the contents down into the elevator shaft. It was somewhat disgusting, but it certainly beat them peeing into a corner. Lilly sighed, grabbed the little bag and turned, after making sure Miley wasn't looking.

.

_to be continued_


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks everyone for your great response to this story. Who knew you all liked happy stories so much? ;)

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**Chapter 3**

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Lilly turned the alarm off with a relieved sigh. They'd been turning it on for a few minutes every hour or so, just in case someone were to come by, but the noise was grating and they'd had no luck so far. She straightened her beanie and sat back in her corner with a sigh. Miley was stretched out on her back, looking wholly uncomfortable and gave Lilly an odd look.

"Why are you wearing that beanie? It's like 80 degrees in here."

"I like beanies. They make me look cool."

Miley snorted and settled farther against her backpack, as if she were trying to find a more comfortable position. Lilly watched her and turned to pull her extra sweatshirt out of her bag. "You want my sweatshirt? You can use it for your back or your head or something."

Miley hesitated, as if she didn't want to take something Lilly might need, but the blonde threw it at her before she could respond. Miley thanked her with a soft smile and bunched the sweatshirt under her head. They were silent again for a while, with Miley just resting and Lilly actually cracking open her textbook. Perhaps the one positive from this ordeal might be her actually passing her class, considering she'd studied more in the past 24 hours than she had the entire semester.

"Hey Lilly?" Miley's voice broke through the silence and Lilly looked up immediately, concerned by the odd tone in her friend's voice. "Can I ask you something weird?"

Lilly nodded and Miley looked away, focused intently on playing with the zipper on her sweatshirt. "How did you know you were gay?"

Lilly didn't answer right away, too stumped by the question. It wasn't that the question was new to her, she'd been asked it many times, but she hadn't expected it from Miley. It was one of those questions people asked either if they were totally against homosexuality or if they'd had wondered about themselves and Miley hadn't seemed like either one of those. She closed her book, deciding it didn't matter. She really liked Miley, as a friend, though she couldn't fully deny she was somewhat attracted to the girl, and she would answer whatever question was asked of her.

"I didn't really **know** until I was 17 or 18, I guess. I mean, that's when I knew what it was, but I'd felt different my whole life. I always hung out with the boys and I had crushes on the girls, even if I didn't really know that's what it was. It's hard to explain, I guess…you just know. It's deep inside of you, like something steering you, which you can't control. It's just like you know you like boys, except you didn't really have to think about it or figure out what it was."

Miley nodded, though still wouldn't meet her eyes. Lilly just watched her, growing more and more curious. After several minutes of silence, when Lilly almost went back to her book assuming they were done talking about this, Miley looked up at her, eyes conveying a vulnerability that made Lilly's heart thunder.

"I never really…told anyone this, but…there were times when I wondered whether I was…you know. Jake was just always right there and it was easy with him and I thought it's what I was supposed to do."

Lilly swallowed hard, forcing her racing thoughts to slow down. Here she had a gorgeous, funny, sweet girl telling her she might be gay and Lilly certainly didn't want to screw this up. For a split second she thought about how a rush of excitement had washed over her at Miley's words, but then she stopped herself. Miley wasn't looking for a date, she wanted advice and a friend and Lilly would give her that.

"You didn't love Jake?"

"I did. And in the beginning I really was smitten with him, but I wonder if I fabricated that, too. I mean, he was hot, don't get me wrong, but all the girls were fawning over him and I figured I had to, as well. I wonder if all those years I spent with him were just…me pretending."

Miley sounded sad, like she had lost something important and Lilly wanted nothing more than to comfort her. "Well, you must have felt something for him, right? You made this little soccer player together after all."

Miley smiled at Lilly's lame joke, resting a hand on her belly. "Sure, I loved him, but I don't think I loved him like I was supposed to. I never felt sparks, there were no butterflies, no tingles and I never even enjoyed it when we slept together. What does that mean?"

"Maybe it was just Jake?"

"I've made out with a few other boys and it was the same. Just sloppy and uninspiring. I always thought that's just how it was, but what if…what if I didn't enjoy it 'cause I'm…gay?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Miley. I don't think it's something you can just figure out like that. You have to **feel** it. Have you ever liked a girl?"

Miley shrugged, blushing. "I think so. Thinking back to High School, there was this girl I always tried to be near and it made me so excited just to talk to her. We were friends, so I thought it was normal. Well, a few girls have flirted with me at clubs, but nothing ever came of it."

"Did you enjoy it when they flirted?" asked Lilly, trying to stomp down the strange sensation of anger overcoming her at the thought of some random no-good lesbian seducing Miley.

"Yeah, of course, but doesn't everyone?"

Lilly shrugged. "I guess. Miley, only you can figure out whether you're gay or not. Just take your time, do what feels right. I guess what I'm saying is 'Follow your heart'."

Miley grinned at the cheesy line, but then shook her head. "I guess it won't matter now. No girl will want to date a confused 21-year-old with a newborn and stretch marks."

"They'd be a fool not to, Miles. You're sweet, funny and beautiful and if that baby gets half your charm, he's gonna turn some heads," said Lilly softly, but earnestly.

Miley met her eyes, astonished and gave Lilly such a brilliant, shy smile it turned her insides into mush. Lilly couldn't believe she had basically just hit on the other girl, but thankfully Miley hadn't seemed to mind or notice.

"You're sweet, Lilly, thanks. And you figured out my nickname."

"What?" Lilly could hardly remember what she had said, the image of Miley flashing that grateful smile at her etched permanently into her brain.

"Miles; my family calls me that. I guess since we're friends now I'll let you get away with it," grinned Miley and Lilly chuckled, nodding.

"Alright, **Miles**. That's good to now."

They both returned to their books, smiling. Lilly was actually getting her homework done, but every once in a while she'd sneak a glance at her companion. A few times she even caught Miley looking at her as well and that discovery made her only smile harder.

XxX

"Do you think after we get out of here we should join a Rummy club and hustle them?"

Lilly looked at the other girl and made a face. She threw her cards down with a sigh and leaned back to stretch. The one useful thing, other than her jug of water, she had carried was a deck of cards and after hours upon hours of playing every game imaginable, they'd even grown tired of that. She looked at her watch and groaned.

"It's barely midnight."

"That means it's almost Sunday. We're gonna get out of here, Lilly." Miley sounded confident, but her voice belied her fatigue and discomfort.

Lilly didn't feel like they'd ever get out and Monday morning seemed like a lifetime away, but she kept her thoughts to herself. She didn't want to worry or upset Miley. "Well, I'm sure if you hadn't been here, I would've gone crazy by now."

Miley smiled. "Who said you're not crazy already?"

Lilly stuck out her tongue, though she enjoyed the teasing. She couldn't help but feel there was something inherently flirty about their teasing, but she refused to let herself dwell on it. They were both tired and hungry and probably delusional. They had worked out a schedule for when to eat Miley's remaining food to prevent serious hunger pains, but Lilly's stomach still growled loudly. She imagined it could only be worse for Miley and Lilly had refused to share the sole apple, insisting it be eaten by Miley alone.

"How's the little soccer player doing?" Lilly said it just to tease the brunette, who adamantly insisted her son was not going to be a jock.

"Preparing for a great career in academics," answered Miley and made a face at Lilly. "He's really restless tonight. Maybe he's as bored as we are?"

Lilly grinned. "Though he should be used to being stuck in a tiny space with nothing to do. Maybe he's ready to come out?"

Miley gaped at her, horrified. "Don't say that!"

"Why? He's coming soon, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but…in a hospital, with strong painkillers available and my Mamaw and Aunt Dolly there to get me through," said Miley, a sudden panic shining through her voice.

Lilly sat up straight, trying to undo the panic she had unwittingly inflicted upon her friend. "No, that's what I meant. That he's getting ready. You know, he's probably got a lot of loose ends to tie up in there…cancelling his lease, turning off his utilities, changing his mailing address. It's gonna take him two weeks I'd say."

Miley gave her a strange look, but then laughed, her panic visibly deflating. In light of the increasing temperature inside the elevator, Miley had taken off her sweatshirt and Lilly thought she could see ripples against her t-shirt, where the baby's foot or hand hit her belly. It was mesmerizing and terrifying all at the same time and both of them watched as the baby continued to move. After a while, Miley looked at Lilly, her eyes unguarded, though she seemed nervous.

"Lilly? Will you do me a favor?" The way Miley was biting her lip made Lilly somewhat apprehensive about this favor, but she knew she couldn't deny this girl.

"Anything. Except for a foot rub, I have a foot phobia."

Miley smiled at Lilly's joke, but her face returned to its slightly agitated state almost immediately. Her voice was so soft when she spoke, Lilly had to strain to hear her. "Will you…kiss me?"

.

_to be continued_


	4. Chapter 4

I see everyone just loved the cliffhanger, you're welcome all ;) Maybe I'll do another in this chapter. Thanks again to all my lovely reviewers, you guys all rock. I was totally gonna update for lita_rocks' birthday, but I dropped the ball...so I'm doing it now. Happy Birthday, shorty!

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**Chapter 4**

.

Lilly nearly choked at Miley's words and stared at her new friend in disbelief. Had she just imagined Miley's request? Was she going delusional with hunger? But the look on Miley's face told her she hadn't been dreaming. Lilly had no idea how to respond and it took long enough for her to even think of anything Miley became restless and looked away.

"I'm sorry, Lilly. I shouldn't have asked. I know we just met…and you're probably freaked out by the whole pregnant thing and…you don't think of me that way…I just wanted to see if…if there were sparks…if I'm gay, y'know."

Lilly wanted to smack herself for causing the self-doubt in the beautiful girl's voice and what she thought were the beginnings of tears. She immediately got up and knelt in front of Miley, who wouldn't meet her eyes. Lilly took a deep breath, trying to keep her emotions under control. Part of her had wanted to jump up and ravage Miley when the other girl had made her strange request, but the more rational side of her had, thankfully, prevailed.

She used both hands to cup Miley's cheeks and turn the brunette's face toward her own. There were definitely tears glittering in Miley's eyes and Lilly's stomach did a weird flop. Their eyes met and Lilly had to force herself to focus, so taken was she with the beautiful blue before her.

"Miley, please listen to me. It's not that I don't want to kiss you, because to be honest, I think you're absolutely beautiful and adorable and I would like nothing more than to meet your request, but…I just don't want it to be something you did on a whim, 'cause you were bored, or freaked out or to test something. A kiss should be special, not in some dinky elevator that smells slightly of pee. And you should go for the whole nine yards, a date, a kiss, to see how you feel, and if you want that person to be me, when we get out of here I'd be more than happy to oblige."

Following her own whim, Lilly leaned forward and pressed her lips ever so softly to Miley's forehead. When she leaned back, Miley offered her a soft smile, but her eyes were still wet with tears. Lilly frowned and brushed a few of them away as she removed her hands. "Don't cry. I'm not good with crying girls, it freaks me out."

Miley chuckled, wiping more tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I blame the hormones. It's like constantly being on edge; sometimes I don't even feel like myself. When I first started showing my brother Jackson made a fat comment and I locked myself in my room and cried for hours."

"He sounds like a jerk," said Lilly with a frown, though she was relieved she had fully resolved the tricky situation from before. She was still kneeling right in front of Miley and it was rather uncomfortable, so she sat, though didn't move away from her current position directly in front of her friend.

"He **is **a jerk, but normally I would've just slapped him over the head. He felt so bad after that incident he has hardly done or said a mean thing to me since. Though I guess that reprieve will be over soon."

"Maybe he'll remain nice to you after Pele is born."

"Did you just name my son?"

Lilly grinned. "Pele was a great soccer player, but if you don't like him, there are plenty of others to choose from."

Miley boxed her arm slightly, but she was smiling. "Please, my family would never forgive me if I named him something they can't pronounce."

"Your family sounds…interesting."

"They are strange, but they're always there for you. Even Jackson, despite his many faults. Daddy says I'll probably graduate before him at the rate he's going."

"Wait, he goes here?" asked Lilly and Miley nodded. "Jackson Stewart?" Miley nodded again, confused now and Lilly laughed. "I think he's in one of my classes. I'm pretty sure he tried to hit on me."

Miley laughed, too. "Yeah, that must be him. Man, he's gonna be mad when he finds out you offered to go on a date with me."

"I guess there's just something that draws you Stewarts to me," said Lilly jokingly, thinking there was no way Miley's short and goofy brother would stand a chance against his sister with her anyway.

"Well, as long as you stay away from my dad, we'll be alright," said Miley seriously. Lilly made a face, her odd expression enough to make Miley laugh. They continued to talk deep into the night, joking, teasing and flirting with one another as the time passed. Lilly could honestly say she had never felt so at ease with another person, not even Joanie, and they had dated for two years. Miley felt the same way, happy to have someone who listened, but who wasn't afraid to joke and tease, and who hadn't judged her in the slightest. Eventually they both drifted off to sleep, not in their separate corners, but side by side.

XxX

Lilly awoke to a persistent nudging in her back, like the tiniest of blows relentlessly torturing her. She tried to swat away whatever it was, but when her hand met with something soft and warm she sat up. Miley was curled up right behind her, her belly pressed against Lilly's back while she slept. Lilly chuckled as she realized the tiny blows had come from the baby kicking her back. She had no idea how Miley even slept through all that movement. Lilly reluctantly moved back to her corner, almost immediately missing Miley's warmth and the baby's obnoxious kicks. Lilly had never been a baby person, she normally avoided them at all costs, but something about Miley and the little soccer player inside of her made Lilly feel happy and protective. She lay back down and closed her eyes, exhausted still despite all the sleep.

The next time she awoke it was to find Miley standing in the other corner, both hands on her lower back while she leaned against the wall. Lilly sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, feeling out of it. A glance at her watch told her it was just past 1 pm and she tried to suppress the thought of having to spend another 20 hours in here. Miley looked over when she heard Lilly move and though she offered a smile, her face was pained.

"What's wrong?"

Miley sighed, leaning forward slightly and back again. "My back is killing me. All this sitting and sleeping on the floor is really screwing with it."

Lilly watched her friend and stood. She couldn't stand to see Miley suffer and, though she was a bit nervous about being so forward, went up to her to offer her hands. "I can give you a backrub, if you'd like. I'm not great at it, but it's gotta beat doing it yourself."

Seeing Miley hesitate, Lilly shook her head. She hadn't wanted to make the other girl uncomfortable. "Hey, I totally understand if you're not comfortable with it. It's okay."

"No, no, that's not it. I think I'm in enough discomfort to let even Jake touch me. I was just trying to figure out the best way to do this," said Miley before Lilly could retreat.

Lilly smiled and motioned for Miley to lean against the wall. Miley complied and Lilly moved her shaking hands to the small of the other girl's back. She was nervous, but wanted to do this right and took a deep breath to calm herself down. As soon as she began massaging the muscles under her fingertips, Miley moaned and Lilly's face flushed bright red. She cursed herself for being so perverted and gritted her teeth, trying to focus. Miley was like putty under her hands, forehead pressed against the wall, hands resting right by her head. Lilly didn't know much about massaging, she had always refused Joanie's requests, but she could tell Miley's back was incredibly tight.

"You weren't in this much pain this morning. Did you sleep wrong or something?"

Miley's voice was soft when she replied, almost as if she were falling asleep and Lilly was proud of her sudden prowess. "I don't know. It started sometime this morning. I sorta tried to sleep through it, but it just kept getting worse. It kinda comes and goes, though."

Lilly stopped her ministrations abruptly, her hands still on Miley's back. She stared at her friend in shock. "You mean like…contractions?"

Miley stiffened under her hands and turned, her face suddenly frightened. "No…I mean, I don't think so. Wouldn't I know if I were having contractions?"

"You mean like feeling intense pain that comes and goes and gets worse?" said Lilly sarcastically, but immediately regretted it upon seeing the look of sheer terror cross Miley's face.

"But that would mean I'm in labor…and I can't be. It's too soon and we're in an **elevator**." Miley sounded completely panicked at the end and Lilly had to grab her shoulders to get her to focus. Before she could say anything, however, Miley grimaced and almost sagged against her. Lilly wrapped her arms around the girl, while Miley's hands found their way to Lilly's shirt, holding on tightly. Judging by the way Miley felt completely stiff against her and the pained look on her face, she really was having a contraction and Lilly tried to keep her own panic at bay. Of all the things to go wrong now, it had to be this.

It wasn't long at all before Miley relaxed in her arms and Lilly lowered them both to sit on the ground. Miley pulled away and tears were once again shining in her eyes. She hugged her belly and her quivering chin and teary eyes broke Lilly's heart. "Oh god, what're we gonna do? It's too soon and…I can't do this, Lilly…not here…and not now…and what're we gonna do?"

Lilly knew she had to focus and make calming Miley down her top priority. She put her hands back on the other girl's shoulders, meeting Miley's eyes. "Miley, it'll be okay. It's fine. **He's** gonna be fine. **You're **gonna be fine. We're gonna do this, okay?"

"But there are no doctors and…what if something goes wrong? And we're still stuck here a-and…"

"Plenty of women have babies without doctors, without hospitals. Women did it for thousands of years, and you can do it, too. And maybe we'll get out before he's even ready to be born. Labor can take a long time, especially with your first baby. It's gonna be okay, Miles." Lilly tried to sound as soothing and confident as possible, but on the inside she was panicking just as much.

"How's it gonna be okay? We don't know what to do!" Miley was still crying and Lilly was worried she'd stress out the baby, or herself.

"Your body knows what to do. And I took a First Aid class last semester."

"Are you serious?" Miley suddenly sounded more incredulous than panicked and Lilly hoped she'd somehow distracted her.

"Totally."

"How's that gonna help?"

"They taught us how to deliver a baby. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Lilly wasn't so sure she knew what she was doing, but she wouldn't tell Miley. She did remember the lesson on childbirth and, at the time, had dismissed it with a 'when would I **ever** need that?'.

"What grade did you get?"

Lilly grinned sheepishly. "I'm sure it was an A. It'll be alright. It's not even gonna come to that, watch, but if I have to, I'll know what to do."

Miley shook her head and wiped her eyes. She had never been so glad for another person's presence as she was right now. Lilly's strong confidence and calmness were keeping her from freaking out. "Okay, but I am not naming my son after you just 'cause you delivered him."

Lilly grinned, relieved Miley seemed to have calmed down somewhat. "And here I was really hoping to see a boy named Lillian."

Miley only swatted her arm lightly, acting like she was annoyed with the blonde, but remained where she was in close proximity. Lilly moved next to Miley, sitting as close to her as possible as they both leaned against the wall. Though Lilly was nervous about the closeness, too, she knew Miley would say something if she didn't want her there and was likely seeking comfort in her time of pain and fear. Lilly grabbed her pack of cards again and they both played half-heartedly for a little while, until Miley's hand clamped onto Lilly's, her face once again contorted in pain.

_to be continued_


	5. Chapter 5

I'm glad everyone is still enjoying this story, despite it being obvious what was going to happen. I normally try to be way more sneaky, but this was just supposed to be a fun, happy story. I'm sure before long I'll be back to writing about violence and mayhem, so enjoy it while it lasts ;) Thanks to all the awesome people who reviewed!

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**Chapter 5**

"Maybe you were wrong. My water hasn't even broken."

Lilly glanced at the other girl skeptically. Miley was leaning against the corner, her face sweaty and tired. Despite nearly seven hours of what, to Lilly, seemed most certainly like contractions, Miley steadfastly hung onto the belief that she was not in labor. Lilly couldn't blame her exactly; this was not where she'd hope to have her baby, in an elevator with no professional help and someone who had taken a First Aid class months ago. She sighed and wrapped an arm around Miley's shoulders, pulling the girl against her. They'd gotten a lot closer over the past few hours and though Lilly had to admit she had a tiny crush on Miley, she'd managed to push it from her mind. All she wanted was to get Miley, and the baby, safely through this.

"It doesn't always right away. This is a good thing. If you can hang on another 12 hours or so, you can have this baby outside this prison."

Miley lifted her head from Lilly's shoulder, giving her friend a disparaging look. "You want me to continue enduring this horrible pain for another 12 hours?"

Lilly made a face, reconsidering. She had already determined she hated seeing her new friend in pain and certainly didn't want another 12 hours of it either. Lilly thought Miley was doing pretty well so far, though; there had been no screaming, no cursing, no throwing things or trying to crush her hand. She had let Miley dictate whatever happened and figured out quickly the girl didn't like to be touched during a contraction, but needed physical comfort right after. She had no idea how she was keeping herself together, when the mere thought of someone giving birth would have sent her running just a few days ago.

"Well, just tell Ronaldo to hurry it up then," said Lilly with a grin, earning a jab in the side.

"Stop giving my kid such horrible names." Miley rested her head back on Lilly's shoulder, curling into the other girl's side. She couldn't imagine having to do this on her own and though this wasn't going exactly like planned, she couldn't have asked for someone better to help her through this.

Lilly was silent, rubbing her hand across Miley's back in soothing strokes. She had never been a very touchy-feely person, another thing Joanie had hated about her, but something was different with Miley. Maybe it was her inability to deny her new friend, especially when she was in pain and scared. Or maybe Miley was just different all around.

"Are you excited to see him?"

Miley didn't need to ask to know whom Lilly was talking about. "Yeah. Excited and terrified all at the same time. Does that make sense?"

Lilly nodded, though she couldn't imagine what it would be like to have a baby at her age. Terrifying most certainly. "A lot of sense. Do you have everything ready for him?"

Miley snorted. "Please, my dad has had a nursery set up for months. It's like my whole family is going crazy; he is going to be so spoiled."

"That's 'cause he's going to be totally adorable."

"How do you know?"

Lilly shrugged. "Well, for one, 'cause he's yours and two, 'cause he's gonna be a famous soccer star."

"I'm making it my life's mission to ensure he will never see a soccer ball," said Miley threateningly, though she was laughing. She stiffened almost immediately after and moved back to her corner.

Lilly watched Miley trying to breathe through the pain and looked at her watch. The contraction didn't last long, but seemed almost endless to both girls. Miley sighed deeply once it was over and moved back to cuddle against Lilly's side. She'd normally never be so forward with someone she had just met, but she was desperate for comfort and physical affection and Lilly was nice enough to offer it.

"Your contractions are still more than five minutes apart and they haven't been that long, so I think you still have some ways to go," said Lilly, earning another jab in the side.

"What do you mean 'not that long'? **You** try and have contractions and then we'll see what's long and what's not."

Lilly smiled, though tried not to let the other girl see. "I thought you weren't in labor."

All she got was another jab in the side.

XxX

Lilly's back was aching and her leg was asleep, but she refused to move an inch, looking down at her brunette friend stretched across her lap. Miley was dozing between contractions, though since they were now coming closer and closer together, she was getting little rest. Lilly absentmindedly ran her hand through Miley's hair just to have something to do and calm her own nerves. She'd known first-time labor could take a while, but 13 hours later and there seemed to have been little progress. Of course, she didn't know what progress looked like, other than there being a baby at the end.

Miley groaned and stiffened, one hand clamped impossibly tight around Lilly's shin. She didn't even bother moving off of Lilly, either too exhausted or too far gone to care. Lilly dutifully watched the time, noting that the contractions seemed to last longer now, though they were still well over five minutes apart. She knew neither of them was likely to get any sleep that night. Miley started shaking against her and Lilly realized she was crying.

"Miley?"

"I can't take it anymore," she said pitifully, tears evident in her voice. She sniffled. "And I think I peed my pants."

Lilly looked down at her along her body, and though it was hard to see with Miley's sideways position, her sweatpants did look wet. "I think your water broke."

Miley sat up, staring at Lilly in panic. "But doesn't that mean he's about to come? You said there was plenty of time. I'm not ready, Lilly."

"Miley," said Lilly, trying to sound as calm and reassuring as she could. "Calm down. Everything will be fine. He will come when he is ready and we'll be ready for him."

More tears leaked from Miley's eyes, but she brushed them away and nodded. "Yeah, thanks Lilly, for being here for me."

"Oh, I'm just doing it so I can be there later and teach him how to play soccer."

Miley laughed through her tears. "Who says I'll even let you around him?"

"Well, it would be rude to deny the woman who delivered your son."

"What if we make it out of here first?"

Lilly shrugged. "I guess then you get a reprieve. You want to stand up or walk around or anything?"

"I think I want to change out of these pants. I got some spare shorts in my backpack," said Miley and Lilly gave her a weird look, but nevertheless grabbed the backpack.

"Did you know you were gonna get stuck in an elevator or something? You seem awfully prepared."

Miley grinned and pulled a pair of large basketball shorts from her bag. "Jackson asked me to bring them and then he skipped his class."

"Do you need help?" asked Lilly as Miley sat up and moved to change her wet pants.

"Just turn around."

Lilly thought about telling Miley that, if things continued the way they were going, she'd soon enough be seeing all of her friend anyway, but decided to keep that to herself.

XxX

"How about Romeo? Or Lucius?"

Miley gave Lilly a weird look. "Now I know you're joking."

Lilly shrugged, having exhausted her repertoire of baby names, but at least she'd managed to keep Miley distracted for a while. "A lot of people name their children after where they were conceived, or born."

"So what, bed or elevator?"

"Alright, how about 'five', for the floor we're on?"

"It'd be more like 'four and a half', since we're stuck between four and five. All these names suck." Miley sounded almost angry at the end and Lilly briefly wondered if she'd gone too far in her joking, but then noticed the brunette was at the beginning of another contraction. She was on her knees, hands wrapped tightly around the handrail, her forehead resting against her hands while she took deep breaths.

"Just breathe through it," said Lilly, though suddenly felt dumb for giving such horrible advice. Of course, Miley was going to breathe through it, she had been for the past 15 hours. Lilly kept an eye on the watch and the other on Miley, an incredible anxiety welling up inside of her during every contraction. She was now convinced she'd have to be the one to deliver this baby and she was terrified, though she wouldn't mention this to Miley.

The contraction seemed to ease and Miley relaxed again, though Lilly noticed her shivering. Her t-shirt was completely drenched with sweat and she was only wearing shorts and socks, leaving her legs bare. Lilly moved closer and rubbed a comforting hand across her friend's back.

"Are you cold? You can take your shirt off and put your sweatshirt back on," offered Lilly.

"You just want me to take my shirt off," said Miley softly and it took Lilly several moments to realize she was joking.

"Yeah, that's it. Come on, take it off. Do you want me to rub your back again?" Lilly held the zip-up sweatshirt out to Miley, who took it with a sigh. She felt horrible that Lilly had to do all this for her, a near stranger, and she bit her lip to keep from crying. Her Mamaw and Aunt Dolly were supposed to be with her when she gave birth, to hold her hand and dry her tears and comfort her when she was scared. Lilly seemed to notice the tears pooling in her eyes again and asked what was wrong.

Miley shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lilly. I know you don't wanna have to do all this and have to deal with me. I'm really sorry. It's really okay if you're too uncomfortable and don't want to get near me."

"Well, granted, I'm a bit afraid of you 'cause of all the women I've seen give birth on TV, but I'm not uncomfortable, Miles. I know we hardly know each other, but I think after this we'll be best of friends, don't you?"

Miley laughed weakly and nodded. She pulled off her wet t-shirt and shrugged the sweatshirt back on, zipping it up. She was already exhausted and couldn't imagine doing this for several more hours. Miley felt Lilly's hands on her back and sighed heavily, resting her head against the wall.

XxX

"A nice, juicy burger," sighed Lilly dreamily, earning herself a weird look.

"What are you talking about?"

Lilly turned her head to look at Miley lying down just next to her. She was still holding onto Lilly's hand, hadn't let go for almost an hour, in fact, but Lilly didn't mind despite the sweatiness. It was incredibly warm inside the elevator and Lilly had stripped off her long-sleeved shirt a while ago, leaving her in just her t-shirt and pants. Miley was sweating much more heavily though with the added stress of the labor. Lilly was terrified about having to possibly deliver the baby, but at this point she just wanted him to come to spare her friend more misery.

"The food I'm most looking forward to eating when we get out of here. What would be your pick?"

Miley grimaced. "I can't even imagine eating right now."

"But when we're out of here, after the little man has finally made his appearance. If you could get anything…"

Miley shifted to roll onto her back, but no matter how hard she tried she could not get comfortable. Even between contractions the ache in her back was driving her wild and the hard floor was not helping. She took a long time to think about it, but eventually answered Lilly's question. "Cheesecake. From that little bakery in the strip mall just across campus."

Lilly grinned. "Now you're playing. Anything else?"

Miley was quiet again for a few moments, but when she spoke her voice sounded almost forlorn. "I just want my baby to be okay and healthy."

Lilly turned onto her side and propped herself up so she could look down at her friend. She took Miley's hand again and squeezed it lightly. "He's going to be perfect. He's just taking this long because he's a star and they always have to make an entrance."

Miley smiled weakly at her and Lilly shrugged. "Or because he's a boy and he got lost and is refusing to ask for directions."

This finally got a laugh out of Miley and Lilly smiled. She checked her watch. "Look, it's after 5 am, we're gonna be out of here real soon, Miles."

Lilly had been keeping a close eye on the time all night and knew another contraction was due soon. She was proven right when Miley's hand clamped down tightly on hers.

XxX

Lilly was utterly and completely panicked and as much as she was trying, she knew her face must be giving her away. She spread out Miley's poncho before her and stacked both their backpacks against the wall with shaking hands. She kept up a continuous mantra in her head of 'Stay calm, just stay calm', but had no idea if it was working. Lilly went up to Miley, who stood bent over, hands on the railing, while another contraction tore through her. She rubbed a tentative hand across her friend's back, while Miley took deep breaths, eyes screwed shut tightly.

"I'm not ready, Lilly." Miley's voice was full of pain and fear and Lilly took a deep breath to try and steady her own nerves.

"Yes, you are. And more importantly, **he's** ready. You do this however it feels most comfortable, okay? I'll be right here with you."

The contractions were now less than four minutes apart and lasting for over a minute each time and when Miley had told her she felt the urge to push, the panic had descended upon Lilly. But she knew she couldn't give into it and had quickly moved to set up the area to at least make it a little less unsanitary.

"I just wanna lie down," said Miley, exhaustion evident in her voice.

Lilly moved to help her, but stopped and blushed. "I uh…your shorts…"

Miley looked at her weirdly, before reaching for the waistband of her shorts. Lilly helped her push them down and then to sit on the poncho. She had Miley lean back against the backpacks and went to kneel in front of the other girl. Lilly was sweating heavily now, too, not from the heat, but the knowledge of what she was about to do. She was just a college student, she couldn't possibly be delivering a baby, but here she was. No matter how terrified she was, Lilly knew Miley needed her. She took a deep breath and with a sudden clarity she could see every step of childbirth taught in her class before her eyes. She put her hands on Miley's knees.

"When you feel like you need to push during the contraction, push as hard as you can."

Her voice was strong and confident, much to her surprise. Miley followed her instructions without comment; they were too far gone for jokes or complaints. Miley didn't scream, but the tears in her eyes and her groans let Lilly know how much pain she was in. Lilly had no idea how long this was supposed to take and once Miley began pushing time seemed to stop mattering. It wasn't until a third voice sounded in the elevator a while later that she broke out of her reverie, startled.

_to be continued_


	6. Chapter 6

Well, this is it - the last chapter, but it's extra long just for all my awesome reviewers ;). I tried to keep the story short, but seeing how much everyone loved it, I may write a few short follow-ups here or there. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story and let me know how much you guys love it. And special thanks to Wirenfeldt Jr for calling me a legend ;) Now on with the story...

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**Chapter 6**

.

"Hey, is someone in there?"

Lilly's head whipped around to the console and, though she didn't wanna leave Miley's side, she slid over to it and pushed the 'talk' button on the phone.

"Help us! You've got to get us out of here!" Her voice sounded a lot more panicked than it would have under any other circumstances.

"You're stuck? How long have you been in there?" Lilly didn't feel like having a conversation. She turned to look at Miley, who looked utterly exhausted and scared.

"Friday. Please just get us out."

"Whoa, okay…yeah. It looks like a belt broke, it could take a little while."

"No, you don't **have** a little while! You need to get us out of here **now**! My friend is having a baby."

"A baby?" The man on the other end sounded confused. Lilly wanted to scream.

"She's giving birth right fucking now, so call an ambulance and get us out of this goddamn elevator!"

Lilly didn't bother sticking around, hoping she had shocked the man into action. She moved back over to Miley, who was in the middle of a contraction. Lilly gasped at what she saw. "I can see the head, Miles, you're almost there. You need to push at the end of the contraction, okay?"

Lilly grabbed the small bottle of hand sanitizer she had set out earlier and coated her entire hands and arms in the substance. Her hand shook as she reached out, but as soon as her fingers touched the top of the baby's head, she felt rock steady. It only took a few more pushes before the head was out and relief washed over Lilly. She could do this.

"The head's out, Miley. I told you, he looks like a star. Come on, one more push and you can see for yourself."

With the next push came first one shoulder, followed by the other and then the baby slid into Lilly's waiting arms. He was gooey and slippery and Lilly held him as carefully as possibly while she wiped the goo from his face with her discarded shirt. Her heart thundered as she looked down at his little face.

"He's not crying, Lilly. Why isn't he crying?"

Lilly didn't look at Miley, though she could tell the girl was crying and starting to panic. Lilly forced herself to remain calm as she cleared the mucus from the baby's nose and mouth. "He's fine, Miley. He's fine."

Miley clearly didn't believe her and her sob tore at Lilly's heart. The baby hadn't cried yet and his lips were a little blue, but Lilly wasn't worried. She knew they hadn't come this far to have something go wrong. She moved next to Miley, holding the baby as carefully as possible.

"Unzip your sweater." Miley didn't question her and did as Lilly asked with shaky hands. She was still crying, but Lilly couldn't focus on that now. She carefully laid the still slippery baby on its belly across Miley's chest and abdomen. Her extra sweater sat off to the side and she grabbed it, spreading it across the baby and Miley. Lilly rubbed her hand gently across the baby's tiny body.

The wail he suddenly let out sent waves of relief through Lilly. She sat back in exhaustion, drained from all the adrenaline and panic. The baby cried and cried, loud and wholly obnoxious, but for once Lilly found the sound beautiful. She smiled and looked down at Miley, who once again had tears in her eyes, but this time they were happy.

"Thank you, Lilly…thank you…" Miley managed to get out between her tears, her hands already stroking the crying baby's back.

Lilly moved over and leaned back against the wall by Miley's side with a sigh. "You're welcome, but I think you did all the hard work. I just caught him when he came out."

"No, you kept me calm and from panicking and you helped me through. I don't know how I'll ever repay you," said Miley, her teary eyes earnest and grateful.

Lilly smiled and shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. "Just get me some World Cup tickets when he's playing for the national team and we'll call it even."

Miley was too tired to even roll her eyes, but she smiled weakly. "So, I was right? It's a boy?"

Lilly stopped and chuckled. "You know, I didn't even check."

She received a weak laugh from Miley and leaned forward. "You want me to?"

Miley gave her an incredulous look and Lilly reached for the sweatshirt with a grin. She lifted it just enough to get a peek, though she had to move the baby slightly and he did not take kindly to the intrusion, increasing the volume of his wails to that of an alarm siren. Lilly grimaced and leaned back. "It's definitely a boy."

He continued to cry and after a few minutes Lilly leaned closer again, her voice frustrated and tired. "Beckham, please stop crying. Your mommy wants to sleep."

Miley's eyes had been drifting shut, but she opened them and looked at Lilly sternly. "That's not his name."

Lilly leaned back, a smug grin on her face. "Well, he seems to like it, 'cause he stopped crying."

"If that's the only name he'll answer to now, I'm gonna be so mad at you," said Miley, already sounding like she was half asleep. Lilly wasn't far behind her, but she forced herself to stay awake.

Just a few minutes later the elevator rumbled to life and Lilly nearly shouted in joy. The baby began crying again at the unfamiliar motion, but Lilly only laughed. She leaned forward to tuck the sweatshirt around him and over his small head, just as the elevator doors opened. A cold breeze swept past them and Lilly looked up at the face of several shocked maintenance men, a few cops and two paramedics. She had never been so happy to see any of them before in her life.

XxX

Lilly felt like a zombie as she weaved through the throng of people, following the campus police officer, who had kindly offered to drive her home. She'd waited while the paramedics had checked to make sure mother and baby were fine, before taking them to the ambulance on a stretcher. Miley had been half out of it from sheer exhaustion, but she'd given Lilly a bright smile as she was wheeled away, warming the blonde's heart. She knew she had made a friend for life over the past 60 hours, and not just because she had delivered Miley's baby.

Lilly ignored the stares from passersby and other students, but she fully believed there would be a rumor circulating around campus by the end of day that one student had massacred another in a school elevator. Her hands and arms were covered in blood, as was part of her shirt and pants and though she had tried to wash some of it off in a restroom before leaving, she was too tired to really try. Her eyes were drifting shut the entire drive home, but she could not get Miley and the baby out of her mind.

There was a brief moment where she worried about getting inside the house, as she had forgotten to grab her backpack, but as soon as she stepped from the squad car, the front door was ripped open. Lilly's mother came at her, face panicked, especially once she saw the blood.

"Lilly, oh my god, what happened?"

"Mom? What are you doing home?" Lilly had the air nearly knocked out of her from her mom's forceful hug and the woman pulled back to look at her aghast.

"What do you mean? Lilly, you've been missing for days! Where have you been? What's with all the blood?"

Lilly sighed. She was tired and wanted nothing more than to shower, sleep and eat, without having to tell the whole sordid tale again. But judging by the worried look on her mother's face, she knew she'd have to explain. Lilly pulled away and moved towards the house, deciding if she couldn't shower, sleep and eat, then she'd at least do them in a different order.

"Mom, I'll explain everything, as long as I can have some food."

Her mother didn't hesitate to usher Lilly into the house and send her off to shower, while she prepared food for her daughter. Lilly was half asleep by the time she got back downstairs, though she felt a hundred times better just being clean. Her mom set a steaming plate of spaghetti in front of her and Lilly practically inhaled the food, telling her story between hastily swallowed bites.

The older woman could only watch, confused and amazed at what she heard. "You…delivered a baby?"

Lilly nodded, shoving more spaghetti into her mouth. Her mother looked at her, incredulous, but she couldn't imagine Lilly lying about something like that. She shook her head and waited until Lilly pushed her empty plate away. "Well, you've had a busy few days, honey. I bet you're exhausted; why don't you go upstairs and get some rest."

Lilly stretched and yawned, before nodding. She got up from the table, but turned to her mother before leaving. "Hey mom, can you take me to the hospital later?"

"The hospital? You said you were fine."

"I am, I wanna visit Miley and the baby," said Lilly, smiling at the thought of seeing her friend again. When her mother nodded, Lilly grinned. "I gotta make a few stops beforehand though."

Before her mother could ask, Lilly was already making her way up the stairs. She hit her bed and immediately fell into a blissful sleep.

XxX

Lilly hated hospitals with a passion, but there was a certain bounce in her step as she made her way along the corridor now. A nurse had directed her towards the right room and Lilly felt both nervous and excited as she got closer. She'd gotten a good six hours of sleep in, as well as another hastily inhaled plate of food, and felt better than she had in days. Her mom had taken her to pick up her car so she could run her own errands and Lilly carried three bags with her as she walked through the maternity ward.

The door to Room 313 was partially open when she reached it and Lilly hesitated, suddenly nervous. She could see inside the room and immediately noticed the broad-shouldered, long-haired man, holding a tiny blue bundle with an absolutely adoring look on his face. Lilly also noticed her friend propped up in the bed and took a deep breath to steal her nerves. She knocked almost hesitantly, but apparently loud enough to be heard as she was invited to enter.

Lilly wasn't sure how Miley would feel about seeing her again, without the crazy emotions and hormones, but when she saw the bright smile erupt on the other girl's face, her relief was palpable.

"Lilly! I can't believe you came!" Miley sounded genuinely happy to see her and Lilly returned her smile enthusiastically. Though it looked like Miley, too, had managed to get some sleep in, she still looked incredibly tired.

"I had to come see how my little soccer protégé is doing," said Lilly with a smile. She set her bags down by the bedside table and watched as the man walked over with the baby. He handed the bundle to Miley and kissed her forehead.

"I'll go give you two some privacy. I'll be in the cafeteria, alright, bud?"

Miley nodded almost absentmindedly, as if she couldn't tear her eyes away from her son, but then looked up and motioned at Lilly. "Daddy, this is Lilly."

The man looked at Lilly intensely and she felt strangely scrutinized. Miley's father looked a lot like his daughter, tall, with kind eyes, though his hair was blonde and shoulder length. He walked around the bed and up to Lilly, who offered her hand in a greeting, but he ignored it and wrapped her in a tight hug, even lifting her off her feet.

"Thank you, Lilly, for taking care of my little girl and my grandson. Whatever you need, you got it. You're family now."

Lilly didn't know what to say or do, taken aback by the intensity of his emotions. He finally set her back down and she offered him a tentative smile. Miley's father smiled back and nodded, before leaving the room. As soon as the door shut behind him, Miley laughed at the almost terrified look on Lilly's face.

"He means it, you know, you're family now."

Lilly shook her head, but then shrugged and got right up to Miley's bed. She looked down at the baby in Miley's arms and smiled. "As long as I get to spend time with this super adorable little guy. He looks a lot different without all that goo on him."

Miley grinned, brushing the back of her hand across his cheek while he slept. Just holding her son, looking at his tiny face, it made all the pain and fear of the past 24 hours completely worth it. She noticed the bags Lilly had brought and motioned at them. "Are you bringing supplies now just in case you get stuck somewhere?"

"It's not a bad idea, you know," said Lilly wryly, having thought about keeping certain survival items in her backpack from now on. She lifted the first bag, Miley's backpack that she had gotten from the school. "I didn't know if anything important was in here, but I got it back for you."

"And this," she said, grabbing the second bag and setting it on the bed, "is a little something for Landon."

Miley only gave her a brief glare for the name infraction, before she shook her head. "You didn't have to get him anything, Lilly. You've already done so much."

"Oh no, I **had** to get this," said Lilly, grinning as she pulled the blue onesie from the bag. It had a soccer ball embroidered on the front, along with the words 'Future Soccer Player'. A little beanie shaped and colored like a soccer ball was also attached. "I had to be the first one to get him some properly gendered clothing **and** get him a soccer outfit."

Miley laughed and shook her head. "It's gonna be his favorite, I'm sure. Thank you, Lilly."

Lilly grabbed the last bag, a much smaller paper bag, which she set on the bedside table. "I also got this, for you. I don't want you sharing with anyone."

Miley looked at the bag confused, before it dawned on her. "Amelie's? You got me cheesecake?"

Lilly knew as soon as she nodded she was in trouble. Miley's eyes welled up with tears and she couldn't figure out what she had done wrong, only that she needed to rectify it. "I'm sorry, Miles…should I not have?"

"No, no…Lilly, you're so sweet and I don't know what I did to deserve it."

"Well, maybe I have an ulterior motive?" said Lilly, earning her a skeptical look.

"You do?"

Lilly nodded, but then motioned at the baby. "But first you have to stop crying, 'cause as cute as he is, I don't want **him** crying again."

Miley laughed lightly, sniffling. She had Lilly get the bassinette from the corner so she could lay him down, but stopped. "You wanna hold him?"

"Me?" Lilly actually squeaked, terrified at the thought of holding such a tiny, fragile baby.

"You realize you held him before, right?" asked Miley with a laugh and handed Lilly the baby.

Lilly cradled him against her body, looking down at the tiny, sleeping baby mesmerized. "Wait, does he have a name, yet?"

Miley nodded, her face serious, but her eyes were intense as she looked at the blonde. "James Lilian Stewart."

Lilly's head shot up and she quickly put the baby down in his bassinette before she dropped him out of shock. "You named your **son** Lillian?"

"No, I named him Lilian, just one L. It's different."

"How is that different? He's gonna get beat up!"

"It's French. It's a common boy's name. He's gonna be fine, especially once he's a famous soccer player."

Lilly grinned at the soccer joke, but her face turned serious once Miley's words sank in. "You named your baby after me? Why?"

"We might have just met, Lilly, but I've never felt so close to anyone before. You were there for me, through hell, through tears and pain; you never hesitated to help me; you make me laugh. I'm so glad I met you, Lilly."

Lilly had to swallow her own tears at the heartfelt explanation and she moved forward to wrap her arms around the other girl. They hugged for several moments, before Lilly pulled away. Both were smiling shyly and Lilly suddenly felt nervous again at what she was about to propose.

"So uh…remember my ulterior motive?" asked Lilly, shifting nervously.

Miley nodded, curious at her friend's sudden change in mood. "Yeah…are you gonna tell me what it is?"

"I was hoping you'd say 'yes' to going on a date with me. That is, if you still want to…" Lilly had to keep herself from rambling on in her anxiety and instead shifted nervously again, while she waited for an answer.

When Lilly looked up to meet Miley's eyes, the other girl was grinning. "I'd love to."

Lilly exhaled in relief, glad she hadn't just imagined the connection. She returned the smile fully, suddenly feeling incredibly happy. Miley looked away and when her eyes met Lilly's again, she seemed almost shy. "Hey Lilly? Remember the favor I asked of you when we were stuck?"

Lilly didn't have to think long to remember and almost blushed again just thinking of how much she had wanted to give in. "Yeah…"

"Well, don't you think this is sufficiently special?" asked Miley innocently, but the corner of her mouth turned up slightly in a sly grin.

Lilly's eyed widened as she realized what Miley was implying and there was a sudden ball of anxiety taking up residence in her stomach. She licked her lips nervously, wondering if she should really do this. What if Miley thought she had to because of what Lilly had done, or what if she was influenced by the strong new mom hormones? But when Lilly met the other girl's eyes, all open and sincere, she couldn't have said 'no' if her life depended on it.

Lilly leaned forward slowly enough to give Miley a chance to pull away should she want to, but the brunette merely waited with bated breath. Lilly's eyes closed on their volition as soon as her lips made contact with Miley's. Tingles shot up her spine and the ball of anxiety in her stomach exploded, flooding her entire body with butterflies. No matter how amazing it felt, she didn't want to push it and pulled away just a few seconds later. Lilly was nervous again, hoping Miley had felt just a fraction of the emotions that she had felt herself.

Miley's eyes were still closed when Lilly moved back, a reverent look on her face. She blinked her eyes open and when she saw Lilly right before her, smiled happily.

"So?" asked Lilly, trying hard to keep a huge grin from erupting on her face until she heard the verdict.

"Yeah, definitely gay," said Miley seriously and then laughed, reaching for Lilly's hand.

Lilly couldn't help but laugh, too, suddenly feeling so light and happy she could have danced in joy. But instead she pulled over a chair and sat, never letting go of Miley's hand. They sat for a while just smiling at each other, like silly schoolchildren with their first crush, until one of them burst out laughing and they both dissolved into a fit of giggles. Miley and Lilly fell back into their easy banter, talking despite the days of talking they'd just put behind them and shared Miley's cheesecake. Lilly knew as she watched the girl before her that this was the start of a beautiful relationship.

_The End_


End file.
